Page 1 of Vampires and Violas

Prologue

Ethan Brennan,CEO of Brennan Properties, wore an orange jumpsuit that didn’t complement his cool complexion. He drummed his fingers on the laminate countertop in the semi-private cubicle, looking through the plexiglass window as guards led a man to the seat across from him.

His trial and sentence had been swift, and now he was adjusting to prison life. He’d officially served seven days. That meant he only had ninety-nine years and fifty-one weeks before he was free to leave, unless he was able to get out early for good behavior.

For an ordinary man, that would be a life sentence. But even for a vampire, it was daunting—especially a young vampire, like Ethan, who’d only been infected with the virus a few years prior.

Ethan’s visitor pulled out his chair and sat down, shifting like he wasn’t entirely comfortable on prison property—suffering from a guilty conscience, no doubt. He was around six feet tall, muscular like he went to the gym most days of the week, and had two full sleeves of tattoos. His hair was brown and short, his goatee was as well, and he wore a T-shirt he bought when he went to see a Broadway musical with his grandmother the year before.

His eyes betrayed his nerves.

The man lifted the phone on his side of the cubicle, and Ethan did the same.

“How are you holding up?” the theatergoer asked Ethan, his sympathetic tone a feat for a man who killed people for a living. Perhaps he was grateful Ethan didn’t throw him under the bus when he was convicted.

But Ethan was loyal, and he knew Sam was more useful to himoutsidethe prison.

“I’m fine,” Ethan responded.

“Hunter said you wanted to see me.”

“I wanted to thank you for being a loyal employee of Brennan Properties,” Ethan began. “Especially now, in light of the scandal, you have stayed by my brother and me, and I appreciate it.”

Sam nodded, his eyes cutting toward the guard behind Ethan.

“I’ve asked Hunter to give you a raise,” Ethan continued. “I’d like you to complete the project I assigned you before I was arrested.”

Sam knew what that assignment was, and it had nothing to do with real estate. His eyes narrowed slightly, and he nodded. “Thank you, Mr. Brennan. I’ll do that.”

“Good.”

And with that, Ethan hung up the phone, rose from the sparsely padded metal chair, and turned around to tell the waiting guard he was ready to return to his cell.

1

“And then helockedme in a closet,” Colin McGary tells the group, clutching his hands at his waist, looking like he’s going to cry again.

The man is forty-two and well-rounded, with short brown hair that’s receding just slightly. He appears shorter than he is, looking about five-six but actually standing closer to five-nine.

Pre-vamps murmur their sympathy, some more enthusiastically than others. The newcomers are genuinely horrified by the story, but the rest of us? Not so much. We’ve already heard it many times. This is the fourth week Colin has regaled us with the tragic tale of the vampire assassin posing as him—Big, Bad Wolf style—and shoving him into a closet.

“How did you escape?” Brooke asks, leaning forward in her folding chair. She’s in her early twenties, with shoulder-length brunette hair and a small rhinestone nose ring. She’s new this week—was bitten at a nightclub in Vegas last month. Occasionally, she glances at my conservator, hearts in her eyes.

And she’s not the only one. Ashlyn, Colin’s conservator, a ridiculously pretty woman in her mid-twenties with a peaches and cream complexion, luminous green eyes, and red hair thatshe wears in an intricate braid, has been flashing him looks as well.

And who can blame them? Cassian is very handsome. Annoying, but handsome.

I turn my eyes on the royal vampire as Colin speaks of Noah’s heroic rescue, giving him a look. I don’t want to be here. HeknowsI don’t want to be here.

He leans against the wall in our group leader’s living room, sipping iced broth from a glass—a prince amongst peasants. Smiling when our eyes meet, he raises his dark eyebrows, silently telling me to pay attention.

With a sigh, I turn to Shanda, a woman in her mid-thirties with a self-proclaimed vampire addiction. Now that Colin is finished, it’s her turn to talk.

“It’s all right if you continue to date him,” Marilyn, our group leader, reminds her. “But you can’t let him bite you again. You’re in the second stage already.”

Shanda twists her hands in her lap. “I didn’t realize it would be so hard.” She drops her voice to a stage whisper. “I didn’t realize I’dwantit so much.”

Several other members of the group murmur in agreement, making me want to roll my eyes.

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